Tune In On Sunday

Johnny Gregorek is making the most of his first trip representing Team USA on the international scene.

Yesterday, he advanced to the 1,500m semifinals as a time qualifier after finished 8th in his first round heat in 3:39.62.

Gregorek was in the second of two semifinals today, where top 5 in each heat and the next 2 fastest would advance to the finals. The second heat went out quick – 60.97 for 400m, 2:00.9 for 800m, and 2:57.71 for 1,200m. At the 1,200m mark, Gregorek was near the back of the pack and appeared to be out of contention for advancement. Gregorek started to kick at 150m to go and picked off five people to finish seventh in his heat in 3:38.68. Gregorek had the fastest final 300m of all of the athletes in the semifinals as he ran 39.45.

Robby Andrews also made it to the semifinals by grabbing an automatic berth with his 6th place finish in his first round heat (3:43.03). He ran in the first semifinal heat today, but with 500m remaining in the race, Andrews dropped out of the race. He told the media afterwards that his calf cramped up to such a degree that he feared he would tear it if he ran any more.

While the hammer throw final will be held today, a face we will not be seeing in that final is Rudy Winkler. The preliminary round was held on Wednesday in cool and rainy conditions. The weather got the best of Winkler as he was only able to manage a 68.77m for 31st in the field. Only the top 12 advanced.

Meanwhile, the women’s 4×100 heats will take place tomorrow morning. Keep an eye out for Akua Obeng-Akrofi in heat one on Team Ghana.